ArmInfo.My common sense tells me that if peacekeepers appeared in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone at the request of both sides, then they should also leave at the request of Yerevan and Baku.
On June 24, during a videoconference, this was stated by the first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma committee for CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots Konstantin Zatulin, answering a question about the prospects for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Karabakh in 4.5 years.
He recalled that Russian peacekeepers were in other regions as well, and cited Abkhazia and South Ossetia as an example. Zatulin recalled that before each expiration of the term, this issue was always raised, they say that Georgia may refuse to extend the mandate.
"I have always said that if we have taken upon ourselves the obligation to maintain peace in the region, then in no way should we turn around and leave when, after some time, one of the parties, for example, having prepared for military operations, is clearly striving to ensure that in order to break the peace in the region, and, accordingly, is interested in that our peacekeepers do not interfere. What will we achieve from such a legitimacy of the peacekeeping mission? We will only ensure that the conflict resumes again, "Zatulin said, expressing confidence that Russian peacekeepers will be in the region in 4.5 years. He once again expressed his conviction that the peacekeepers can be withdrawn only at the request of both sides. Touching upon the role of Turkey in the region, Zatulin stated that Ankara has always had and has its own interests in the Caucasus. "If we were now living in the 18th, 19th, and even in the 20th century, I would say that for the most part they contradicted the interests of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Currently, a certain cooperation is developing between Turkey and the Russian Federation in a number of areas, but this does not mean at all that our national interests coincide, "the lawmaker said.
At the same time, Zatulin noted that he considers the signing of the Shusha Declaration as an act of Turkey's further advancement to the Caucasus. "The confirmation of this fact is that Azerbaijan is a conductor of Turkey and due to those debts, having borrowed from Ankara during the war (not only money, but also the fact that Azerbaijan relied on Turkey). And today, it is already difficult for a layman to figure out where Turkey ends, and where Azerbaijan begins, and vice versa, if we proceed from the principles that are laid down in the Shusha Declaration, " the Russian politician said. According to him, it is clear for Russia that Azerbaijan and Turkey are merging and, of course, are trying to make a good face, to assure that it complies with the UN Charter and is not directed against third countries. However, according to Zatulin, all the formulations contained in this declaration leave no one in doubt that this is definitely an anti-Armenian declaration.
"Of course, it does not in any way touch or name Russia in form, but at the same time we understand that being connected with Armenia by mutual treaty agreements, we cannot but ignore the fact that Turkey and Azerbaijan have chosen Shushi as places for signing the anti-Armenian declaration, "the Russian deputy noted.
Referring to the situation on the borders of Armenia, Zatulin noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey are not ashamed to act and are trying to get the most out of this situation, which is not very correct. At the same time, he stated that the actions of the President of Azerbaijan, attacks against Armenia cannot be called anything other than narrow-minded nationalism.